2 Kings 6:24-33

Christian Standard Bible

The Siege of Samaria

²⁴ Some time later, King Ben-hadad^(A) of Aram brought all his military units together and marched up and laid siege to Samaria. ²⁵ So there was a severe famine^(B) in Samaria, and they continued the siege against it until a donkey’s head sold for thirty-four ounces^[a] of silver, and a cup^[b] of dove’s dung^[c] sold for two ounces^[d] of silver.^(C)

²⁶ As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, “My lord the king, help!”

²⁷ He answered, “If the Lord doesn’t help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor or the winepress?” ^{(D) 28} Then the king asked her, “What’s the matter?” ^(E)

She said, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son, and we will eat him today. Then we will eat my son tomorrow.’ ²⁹ So we boiled my son and ate him, and I said to her the next day, ‘Give up your son, and we will eat him,’^(F) but she has hidden her son.”

³⁰ When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his clothes.^(G) Then, as he was passing by on the wall, the people saw that there was sackcloth^(H) under his clothes next to his skin. ³¹ He announced, “May God punish me and do so severely^(I) if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today.”

³² Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders^(J) were sitting with him. The king sent a man ahead of him, but before the messenger got to him, Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this murderer^(K) has sent someone to remove my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door to keep him out. Isn’t the sound of his master’s feet behind him?”

³³ While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger^[e] came down to him. Then he said, “This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?” ^(L)